NBR’s Matiur not to attend Sonali Bank board meeting: Bank chairman
The government has ordered National Board of Revenue (NBR) official Matiur Rahman not to participate in the board meeting of the state-owned Sonali Bank Plc.
Sonali Bank chairman Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui told newspersons after the board meeting on Sunday, “It is the jurisdiction of the government to postpone or cancel any appointment. We have received a directive from the government that he (Matiur Rahman) will not attend any of our board meetings. We have informed our board members about the government’s decision.”
The board meeting of the bank was held on Sunday without Matiur Rahman. It is known that he may be removed from the post of director within this week, sources said.
In February 2022, the government appointed Matiur Rahman as the director of Sonali Bank for three years.
Earlier, Matiur Rahman was removed from the current charge (Member) of the National Board of Revenue (NBR). He was transferred to the Internal Revenue Department (IRD) from the post of Chairman of the Customs, Excise, and VAT Appellate Tribunal of NBR.
A notification signed by Mokima Begum, deputy secretary of the Internal Resources Division of the Ministry of Finance on Sunday stated that he (Matiur) has been removed from the post of chairman of the Customs, Excise, and VAT Appellate Tribunal and attached to the IRD.
Matiur Rahman came into limelight as ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha, a video of his son buying a goat at Tk 1.5 million from Sadik Agro in the capital’s Mohammadpur area went viral on social media. The netizens also found that he purchased cows worth Tk 7 million from different farms in the capital.
Since then, Matiur Rahman’s son’s luxurious lifestyle, including expensive brand watches and cars, properties he owned, including resorts, shooting houses, bungalow houses and lands he and his family members became the talk of the country.
Matiur Rahman was the president of Customs, Excise and VAT Appellate Tribunal of NBR. He is also a member of the board of directors of Sonali Bank.
On 1 February, 2022, the Financial Institutions Department of the Ministry of Finance recommended his appointment as a director of Sonali Bank for three years.
Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah was the Secretary of the Financial Institutions Department at that time.
Sources said since Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah already knew Matiur Rahman well, he was not willing to appoint him as the director of Sonali Bank. But he could not ignore the lobbying of Abdur Rouf Talukdar, who was the Finance Secretary at that time.
A message was sent to Abdur Rouf Talukdar, currently serving as the Bangladesh Bank governor, on WhatsApp on Saturday to know the truth of this allegation.
He saw the message but did not reply. Even Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah did not want to talk in this regard.
According to a source, Abdur Rouf Talukder has a close family relationship with Matiur Rahman. They have a longstanding relationship with a private industry group.
They have been informally advising the business conglomerate on tax and banking matters for more than a decade, sources close to them said.
It has also been learnt that their families have travelled abroad together.